The Movement Doc of Texas
Pre & Post-Surgical Rehab in New Braunfels, TX
Surgery repairs the structure. It does not give you back the strength you lost before it, during it, or in the weeks of protection afterwards — that part is rehab, and it is the part that decides how this ends.
- Full hour, one-on-one
- Coordinated with your surgeon
- Objective return-to-sport testing
The strongest predictor of how a surgical recovery goes is often how strong you were going in. Prehab is not a marketing add-on — entering surgery with better strength and range consistently makes the months afterwards shorter and less miserable.
Before Surgery
The weeks before are not dead time.
If your date is set, the interval before it is worth using. Building strength in the limb, holding whatever range you have, and learning the exercises you will be doing afterwards — while you can still concentrate and are not in post-operative pain — all shorten the early phase.
It is also when to sort out the logistics: how you will manage stairs, how long your brace or restrictions last, and what week one actually looks like. Knowing that in advance removes most of the panic from the first fortnight.
Procedures we commonly rehab
- ACL reconstruction
- Meniscus repair and meniscectomy
- Rotator cuff and labral repair
- Hip and shoulder arthroscopy
- Total knee and total hip replacement
- Achilles repair and ankle procedures
After Surgery
Four phases, and the mistake in each
Protect and activate
Range within your surgeon's restrictions, swelling management, and getting the muscle switching on again. The mistake here is waiting passively for the all-clear while the quad shuts down.
Rebuild under load
Strength work as restrictions lift. Where heavy loading is still off the table, blood flow restriction training does real work in this phase. The mistake is loading too light for too long.
Restore capacity
Heavier strength, then power and change of direction where the sport needs it. The mistake is stopping here because it no longer hurts — which is where most insurance-limited rehab ends.
Test, then return
VALD force plate testing for strength, power, and limb symmetry. The mistake is going back on feel, which is how people re-tear.
Why the Model Matters Here
Surgical rehab is where visit caps do the most damage.
An ACL reconstruction needs somewhere around nine to twelve months of progressive work. A plan that stops at visit twenty because that is what the policy allowed stops in phase three — pain-free, functional for daily life, and still meaningfully weaker on one side.
That gap is not theoretical. Strength asymmetry at return is one of the better-established risk factors for re-injury, and it is invisible without measuring it. Working outside the insurance model means your plan finishes when the numbers say so.
We coordinate with your surgeon's protocol throughout. Where their restrictions and our preferences differ, their protocol wins.
Getting started
A 90-minute evaluation is $185. Bring your operative report and any protocol your surgeon provided.
In-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, out-of-network with superbills for other plans, HSA and FSA accepted. Packages on the pricing page.
FAQs
Common questions
When should I start after surgery?
Usually as soon as your surgeon clears you, which for many procedures is within the first week or two. Earlier appropriate movement generally beats waiting. Your surgeon's protocol sets the timeline, not us.
Can I start before surgery?
Yes, and we would encourage it if your date allows. Even a few weeks of prehab tends to pay back in a shorter, less frustrating early phase.
Will you follow my surgeon's protocol?
Yes. Bring it to your first visit. Where a protocol is conservative relative to current evidence we will say so and discuss it with you, but we do not work around a surgeon's restrictions.
How long does ACL rehab take?
Returning to cutting and pivoting sport is generally a nine to twelve month process, sometimes longer. Anyone promising a faster return without testing to back it up is selling you extra re-injury risk.
How do I know when I am actually ready?
By measuring it. Strength, power, and limb symmetry tested on force plates, compared against benchmarks for your sport. Feeling ready arrives months before being ready, which is precisely the problem.
Surgery scheduled, or already done?
Either way there is work worth starting. Book an evaluation, or use the free 15-minute consultation to ask first.